the victim has escaped grave danger. Because these paintings commemorate an action that has already occurred, depiction of the miraculous cure or rescue event is constructed purely from the imagination of the artist. The deity floating above the scene is often in the right hand corner and is often surrounded by clouds to indicate his/her heavenly presence. The narrative written beneath the scene of the painting supplies the synopsis for what is often a two-act play: a grim, even catastrophic event, involving the world of mortals, followed by the divine intervention of the proper saint. Modern votive “paintings” are frequently made on paper, and often have the look of children's art, most likely designed and created by the giver. They may include photographs, or even photocopies. Even those who have been commissioned are often not done by classically trained artists. They often have no clear perspective, and spelling errors are very common. The most common scenes depicted in votive paintings are related to health, with many dedicated after operations. Survival of accidents is a close second Older and modern votive paintings have depicted car and cart accidents, falls into hot tallow, electrocutions, animal attacks and many different diseases. Violent events such as attacks by robbers, police, drunken husbands, fires, earthquakes, storms and mine collapses also appear. People depicted range from farmers, to miners, to politicians and prostitutes. Surgeries are depicted complete with masked doctors, oxygen tanks and other paraphernalia. While these are the most common themes, almost any subject is sufficient to justify creating one, from finding a missing child or mule to fixing a leak in a stock pond Written description are often emphasize the dramatic and express a sense of fatalism. Significance Ex votos of all types are found in nearly all Mexican churches, with hundreds of thousands of votive paintings be found in churches and shrines all over the country. Certain sanctuaries or pilgrimage sites are known for having extremely large collections of votive paintings. These include the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the Sanctuary of Chalma in Mexico State, the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Patrocinio in Zacatecas, the shrine of the Virgin of Ocotlan in Tlaxcala, the shrine of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco and the sanctuary of Santo Niño de Atocha in Fresnillo. These paintings have artistic, cultural and historic value as they provide insight